How to Plant Grapes in Texas

Designate an area that has good drainage and full sun exposure as your planting site. The size of your plot will depend on how many vines you intend to plant. Muscadine vines require 20 feet of space and can produce more than 50 lbs. of grapes. Find out from the nursery where you buy your plant what its specific requirements are.

Break up the ground to a depth of 8 to 12 inches and mix it with a 4-inch layer of compost, manure or another organic matter to enrich the soil. Rake the surface to a smooth bed. Wait about three weeks before planting to give the compost time to become incorporated with the soil. The ideal time to plant a grapevine is February through April, just before the last frost in your Texas region.

Install a one-wire trellis to support the grapevine, reducing the risk of fungal infections that affect vines trailing on the ground. But according to “Texas Gardener,” if you live in the South Plains, where fungal disease is not a common occurrence, you may be able to postpone erecting a trellis until your vine is a year old. Use a 9-gauge wire to hold the weight of a bearing vine and stretch it 6 feet above the ground between two fence posts.

Dig a hole in front of the trellis and as close to it as possible. It should be at the same depth as and a little wider than the root ball.

Examine the roots and trim broken ones. Spread them out and put the vine in the hole. Backfill it with the soil you dug out.

Water your vine immediately after planting. If the soil settles, add more and continue to water until the ground no longer sinks. Keep your grapevine irrigated during the growing season. Muscadine vines are drought-tolerant and thrive when the weather in Texas gets hot and humid.

Trim all side branches at planting, leaving only the main trunk. Tie it to the wire trellis.

Prune your grapevine every dormant season to encourage good production July through September. Remove the tendrils left from the past growing season, suckers shooting from the base of the vine, and lateral branches on the main trunk, except for the one running along and tied to the wire. Prune up to four fruiting spurs on it to promote strong cane development in spring.

Apply compost around the base of the vine every spring to keep the ground rich in nutrients. Always water the soil after feeding your grapevine.

Control Pierce’s disease, which can completely wipe out a vineyard. According to Pick Texas, a website of the Texas Department of Agriculture, Pierce’s disease is present everywhere in the state except for the South Plains. The glassy-winged sharpshooter and other insects transmit the bacteria that cause the disease. Controlling Pierce's disease means controlling the insects that spread it, since there’s no treatment for the condition. Imidacloprid is an insecticide approved for use on grapevines in Texas. Muscadine grapes are resistant to Pierce’s disease.